Millerand, Alexandre

(1859-1943)

   political figure

   Born in Paris, where he was also educated, Alexandre Millerand worked with georges Clemenceau in editing and publishing the newspaper La Justice. He served as a Radical Party deputy (1885-89) before becoming a socialist and affirming the need for the socialization of the means of production (1896). Minister of commerce and industry in the pierre waldeck-rousseau cabinet (1899-1902), he continued to support the passage of several social welfare laws. Nonetheless, his participation as the first socialist in a bourgeois government was strongly criticized by the majority of socialists (in particular jules guesde). As a consequence, Millerand more and more distanced himself from the party, especially after the founding of the unified socialist Party in 1905. Minister of public works (1909-10) under aristide briand and of war under Raymond poincaré, he helped, during World War I, to form the conservative bloc national, maintain the union sacrée, uphold the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, and defend private property. After the war, he served in strasbourg as commissioner general in charge of supervising the return of the Alsace region to France. He also served as president of the Council (January-September 1920) and as president of the republic (1920-24), then resigned after the triumph of the left-wing coalition (Cartel des gauches) in the 1924 elections. Millerand was named to the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences in 1918.